-
Franklin Tech’s Gabe Tomasi (4) runs against Cape Cod Tech during the MVADA Small School quarterfinals on Friday night in Turners Falls. -
Franklin Tech’s Zaydrien Alamed (25) hits Cape Cod Tech quarterback Aiden Choukri as he releases a pass during the MVADA Small School quarterfinals on Friday night in Turners Falls. -
Franklin Tech’s Shaun Turner is tackled by Cape Cod Tech players during the MVADA Small School quarterfinals on Friday night in Turners Falls. -
Franklin Tech’s Josiah Little readies to make a block as quarterback Gabe Tomasi (4) looks to pass against Cape Cod Tec -
Franklin Tech’s Gabe Tomasi (4) completes a pass to Cam Candelaria during the MVADA Small School quarterfinals on Friday night in Turners Falls. -
Franklin Tech’s Josiah Little tries to elude the tackle of Cape Cod Tech’s Will Burgess during the MVADA Small School quarterfinals on Friday night in Turners Falls.
TURNERS FALLS — It was a tale of two halves for the Franklin Tech football team on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts Athletic Directors Associaton’s Small School playoffs.
No. 8 Cape Cod Tech made the most of its two possessions in the first half, going on long drives and ending both with touchdowns to take a 12-0 lead at the half against the top-seeded Eagles.
That score held until the fourth quarter, when the Tech offense came to life. Quarterback Gabe Tomasi led the Eagles on a touchdown drive to open the frame that cut the lead to 14-8 and with 4:53 to play, Tomasi and Franklin Tech went on a five-play drive that ended with Tomasi plunging in on a quarterback sneak to give the lead with 2:12 to play.
The Eagles recovered an onside kick and were able to run the clock out to advance to the semifinals with a 16-12 victory.
“It was a slow start,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “Our first possession we go down and we shoot ourselves in the foot. They came back and scored, they stop us and they score. It felt like we were picking up where we left off last week.
“I’m super proud of their effort, heart and determination,” Gamache added. “They battled back. The end result was what we were looking for. The process getting there might not have been the best but it was exciting for the fans.”
It was a bounce back performance for the Eagles (7-3), which fell in the opening round of the MIAA Div. 8 state tournament last Friday.
It would have been easy for Franklin Tech to give in after that, but instead it showed fight and determination to keep its postseason alive on Friday with the big second half.
“Our defense came up huge for us,” Tomasi said. “Our offense finally put our stuff together. This is my first postseason win since I’ve been here. It feels great and fantastic. We’ll definitely be celebrating tonight.”
The Eagles got the ball first and marched it down to Cape Cod Tech’s 4, but Tomasi was sacked and his run on fourth down was stopped short of the sticks, giving the Crusaders (3-6) the ball at their own 3.
Running the triple option, Cape Cod quarterback Aidan Choukri broke off a 43-yard run to get away from the goal line, later added a 26-yar d run and capped off the eight play drive with a 14-yard touchdown. The snap on the two-point try was high, with the Crusaders taking a 6-0 lead with 56 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Franklin Tech went three-and-out on its next possession, punting it back to Cape Cod who took over at its own 40.
The Crusaders proceeded to go on a drive that would make Woody Hayes proud. Playing ‘three yards and a cloud of dust’ football, Cape Cod went on an 18 play drive that milked 10:47 off the clock, with the ticker only stopping following two Crusaders timeouts in the final minute of the half.
Cape Cod picked up five first downs — four coming on fourth down — and closed out the drive by Choukri taking a quarterback sneak in from 1 yard out on fourth and goal to give the Crusaders a 12-0 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the half.
A drive that long can be demoralizing to a defense but from that point on, the Eagles didn’t allow Cape Cod to reach the end zone.
“The message at halftime was that we all had to work together,” Tomasi said. “Seeds don’t matter. Kudos to them, they proved that in the first half. We had to get our stuff together, work as a team, we had to start blocking and I had to start making better reads. It was a team effort. That was everything.”
The Crusaders got the ball to open the second half but Choukri fumbled on the opening play and Tech recovered. The Cape defense stepped up and stopped the Eagles on fourth down to get the ball back.
It looked like the Crusaders were going to go on another clock-draining drive to put the game away. Taking over at its own 30, Cape Cod picked up a trio of first downs to march it down to the Eagles 14, but Tech stopped Choukri for a seven-yard loss on first down that ultimately derailed the drive, as the Crusaders later turned it over on fourth down.
From there it was the Tomasi show. The senior signal caller orchestrated a 15-play drive that ended with him finding Ethan Smarr for a 10-yard score. Tomasi found Smarr for the two-point try to cut the lead to 12-8 with 7:21 to go.
“At halftime we walked in on [Tomasi] talking up the team and getting them fired up,” Gamache said. “He really dialed in there in the second half. We caught a break early with the turnover, didn’t cash in, but stepped up and he made some big drives there at the end.”
Tomasi did it with both his arm and legs on the drive. The senior converted a quarterback sneak to keep the drive alive, scampered for runs of 15 and 11 yards, found Smarr for a 10-yard gain and Cam Candelaria for a 15-yard gain.
Facing a third-and-10 from the Cape 25, Tomasi zipped a pass over the middle to Hunter Donahue and the freshman snatched it out of the air with one hand to keep the drive alive. Tomasi found Smarr on the next play for the touchdown.
“Ethan made some big catches,” Gamache said. “Hunter Donahue getting the fresh set of downs with the one-handed catch. That’s a freshman who made a spectacular play to keep the drive alive. Hats off to all of them. The line really stepped up and did a much better job.”
The Crusaders got the ball back and decided to go for it facing a fourth-and-two from their own 44. The snap was bobbled and Tech was all over it, getting the ball back with 4:53 to play at the Cape 43.
Following a false start Tomasi found Smarr for a 27-yard gain to bring the ball to the Crusaders 21. Josiah Little picked up seven yards on a pair of carries, Jet Bastarache took a fullback dive 10 yards to the 2 when Tomasi snuck it in from there with 2:12 to play.
Tomasi found Tucker Hicks for the two-point try to take a 16-12 lead.
“The most important thing was staying poised,” Tomasi said. “You need to make smart decisions with the ball, you can’t force things and you have to take what the defense gives you. Shout out to all my teammates. It was a big second half from everyone.”
Tech went for the onside kick, recovered it and on a third-and-three, Little picked up seven yards to seal the win and send the Eagles to the semifinals.
Franklin Tech now awaits its semifinal matchup, which will be at a date and time to be determined.